Father of teen killed by deputies partners with King Co. Sheriff's Office to push for body cameras

As protests and discussions continue over improving accountability and transparency in law enforcement, the King County Sheriff's Office is working on a proposal to provide body cameras for roughly 400 deputies.

The move toward body cameras stems from a settlement between the county and the family of 17-year-old Mi'Chance Dunlap-Gittens. In 2017, the teen was shot and killed by King County Sheriff's deputies during an undercover sting that mistakenly targeted his friend as a suspect in the hit-and-run death of a Seattle police officer's son.

Now, Mi'Chance's father hopes his son's legacy will be part of mending trust with law enforcement and the community.

"We grieve everyday, and we just want the community and the world to know Chance's name forever, because he could've lived another 80 years from when he passed and been a big part of society," says Chance's father, Frank Gittens.

Frank and his family have lived through a nightmare. Although he's open about the pain he'll struggle with for the rest of his life, but wants to use it to help  make change.

"A lot of people expect me to be angry and bitter, and I do have my private moments, and I am, but I know there is work to be done. And I might be a grumpy old man 20 years from now, but right now I gotta do what I gotta do and grumpy will be later," he says.

For the last three-and-a-half years, Chance's parents have worked tirelessly to help bring body cameras to the King County Sheriff's Office.

As millions of Americans watched the killing of George Floyd in horror, Frank says far more violence happens unrecorded, including the shooting of his son.

"I think the body cams aren’t just to make the community safe, I think its also to make officers safe, it keeps everybody on the up and up and it keeps your partner from not having to lie for you because it's on camera," he says.

Frank says the protests are beyond inspiring. He echoes many protesters calls for police reform, accountability, and transparency, but he doesn't necessarily share the desire for law enforcement to be defunded.

"We need officers, they need money, but it has to spent and put in the right place, and it's not weapons and its not tear gas or storage for the weapons. It's stuff like cameras, stuff that helps the community have a transparent view so they can see what goes on and people can be held accountable. And those cameras need to run all the time."

Frank says he feels partnership with KCSO is important in making body cameras a reality. He understands why some would struggle with working with an agency responsible for his son's death, but he says he's putting his faith in the officers who want to do good in the community.

"Some took the job because they just wanted the power, and some took the job because they really wanted to be heroes, and I believe that's the majority of them. When I was a kid growing up I felt police officers were heroes."

He says there is much that needs to be repaired between law enforcement and members of the community, and he doesn't know if he'll get to see all the changes necessary within his lifetime. But body cameras on deputies is a big start - and a way his son's legacy will live on forever.

"Chance's eyes will be protecting our community for the rest of our lives, our kids' lives, their kids' lives. That would be amazing. He'd be out 24 hours a day watching the community, and that to me would be a blessing, and I couldn’t ask for anything more."

Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht says she's in full support of her deputies wearing cameras. Ultimately it'll be up to county council to decide if the budget will allow for it.